“Labour will [introduce] new Respect Orders - powers to ban persistent adult offenders from town centres, which will stamp out issues such as public drinking and drug use”
Provisions to establish Respect Orders are likely to be included in a forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill. It is not clear when this will be introduced.
Antisocial behaviour is a concern for many, with the Crime Survey for England and Wales finding around one third of people had experienced or witnessed it in the past year. In its manifesto, Labour said it would introduce new Respect Orders, giving powers to “ban persistent adult offenders from town centres, which will stamp out issues such as public drinking and drug use”.
The proposals, full details of which have yet to be released, appear to be broadly similar to the Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) introduced by the previous Labour government in 1998. It was reported that half of all ASBOs were breached, two-thirds were breached more than once, and the previous Labour government never reached its target of reducing re-offending. They were ultimately scrapped under the Conservative-led government in 2014.
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The legislation needed to bring in Respect Orders is likely to form part of the Crime and Policing Bill which Labour plans to introduce. In addition, the Bill will create a duty for local partners to co-operate to tackle antisocial behaviour, with every local authority having an antisocial behaviour lead.
In an interview with Sky News in September 2024, policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said the details of how the orders will work had yet to be finalised.
During a debate on policing in the House of Commons on 21 October 2024, home secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed that Respect Orders are still set to be introduced, saying they would “allow the police to take action against repeat offenders and to make sure that our streets and communities can be kept safe”.
No dates have been given for when this might happen, so it is not possible to say what progress has been made.
We asked the Home Office in October and again in November 2024 to clarify when the legislation is likely to be introduced, and will update this page when we receive a reply.
As we develop this Government Tracker we’re keen to hear your feedback. We’ll be keeping the Tracker up to date and adding more pledges in the coming months.
Full Fact tracks Labour’s 2024 manifesto pledges
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